Remember Those in Prison

In Matthew 25, we can read a familiar passage, in which Jesus identifies areas of struggle, perhaps of
pain, people who need His touch. He rewards the righteous, and we see these words:
37 Then the righteous will answer Him, saying, 'Lord, when did we see You hungry and feed You, or thirsty and give You drink?
38 When did we see You a stranger and take You in, or naked and clothe You?
39 Or when did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?'
40 And the King will answer and say to them, 'Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me.'

No one is beyond the scope of being changed by Christ's love.  A person who has physical needs can be someone to whom we can minister the love of Jesus.  A person in crisis becomes a candidate for the life-transforming power of the gospel.  When we look into the eyes of someone who is desperate need of hope, who needs for something to be altered in their lives, in a sense, we are looking into the eyes of Jesus, because we are serving our Savior when we serve the needy.

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Jesus emphasized the importance of ministering to those in prison in Matthew 25, and in Hebrews 13, we can read:
1 Let brotherly love continue.
2 Do not forget to entertain strangers, for by so doing some have unwittingly entertained angels.
3 Remember the prisoners as if chained with them--those who are mistreated--since you yourselves are in the body also.

That third verse was referenced in a recent article, to which I'll refer, by a representative of a leading prison ministry organization.

Last night at the State of the Union address, President Trump had as one of his guests a Nashville man recently released from prison.  His name is Matthew Charles, described by WSMV Television as "first prisoner released through the FIRST STEP Act." That is the prison reform bill that was passed by Congress late last year and signed into law by the President.  A number of faith leaders were involved in helping to craft that bill.  The WSMV story says:

Charles was sentenced in 1996 to 35 years in prison for selling crack cocaine and other drug offenses. He was released on January 3.

"While in prison, Matthew found God, completed more than 30 bible studies, became a law clerk, taught GED classes, and mentored fellow inmates," according to a White House statement.

Heather Rice-Minus of Prison Fellowship wrote at Religion News Service back in December that:

The great hope is, of course, that incarcerated people will use their sentences to pursue significant changes in their lives, make amends for their wrongdoing and earn back the public’s trust. It makes sense, then, for prisoners to have access to as many transformative resources as possible — spiritual, educational and vocational.

Yet right now, few such resources are available. By the Bureau of Prisons’ own estimate, the wait list for a basic literacy course is 16,000 names long. Perhaps unsurprisingly, the recidivism rate for federal prisoners is 49 percent — a failure rate of 1 in 2.

The First Step Act would increase opportunities for faith-based and nonprofit groups to provide programs that reduce recidivism.

The Act also provides for sentences that are more tailored to the crimes committed, as well as to increase visitation privileges for people whose parents are in prison.

A large Texas church has stepped up to help prisoners to be transformed, which would ideally reduce the chances of those prisoners who have been released returning.  A Christian Headlines story highlighted a church plant - in a prison!

It says:

Fox News reports that 650 inmates attended the first Coffield Gateway service in November and since then over 500 men have dedicated their lives to Jesus.

Senior Pastor Robert Morris was quoted: “At Gateway Church, we’re all about people because God is all about people," adding, "Many of the men and women inside prison have been forgotten by society, but we want them to know we love them and God loves them, and they are our brothers and sisters in Christ."

The story says:

According to Fox News, the Coffield campus is set up to run like any other campus and gives inmates the opportunity to serve. Inmates are tasked with greeting service attendees, being ushers, operating audio and visual equipment, forming a worship team, and staffing the service, the outlet reports.

The campus is pastored by Stephen Wilson who is an ex-offender.

And, in Angola Prison, which is a state prison in Louisiana, a place from which most prisoners will never exit due to the state's strict laws, prisoners are learning about being set free from what imprisons their souls.  Paul Caminiti of the Institute for Bible Reading wrote on that organization's website:

In November I was invited to Angola to present Immerse: The Bible Reading Experience to the 28 Protestant churches that operate inside the prison. Thanks to a partnership with New Orleans Baptist Seminary, there is a seminary program within the prison that has trained and ordained over 100 prisoner/pastors.

Our relationship with Pastor Jim Cymbala at The Brooklyn Tabernacle opened the door at Angola. After Immerse was successfully launched to 5,000 people at BT, Pastor Cymbala caught a vision for Immerse in Angola. BT has a long partnership with Angola, with groups traveling there every year to visit the prison hospital and minister to the men on death row.

Upon sharing the vision for this program with four to five hundred people, Caminiti relates: "The meeting ended and I was swarmed with inmates, full of questions, wanting to know when the Bibles would arrive. There were tears. The hope of the gospel and the power of the Scriptures has shone a light into the darkness at Angola." He writes, "Beginning in February, all 28 Angola churches will begin reading the New Testament together with Immerse: Messiah."

God is doing an incredible work through prison ministry across the country.  And, we can remember that no one is beyond the life-changing power of God's love.  Through the reform of the heart, a person in prison can experience spiritual freedom, which can result in physical freedom as a person lives His life by Biblical principles.

We possess the powerful truth that the Bible brings hope.  We should be people in this fallen, crazy world reflecting a hopeful countenance, because we know Jesus, we love Him, and know what He can do.

The spread of Biblical truth, the reform of a heart, can deliver a person from a life of crime.  We need deterrents to crime in our society, and God's Word helps a person be at peace under man's law - and God's law.

Finally, we can admit that for all of us, the Bible offers freedom from spiritual captivity.  Sin works to repress us, to keep us from experiencing God's best - but Jesus died on the cross and rose from the dead so that we could experience victory over the power of sin.